This season has been an unpredictable rollercoaster with the numerous COVID-19 outbreaks, but the NFL playoffs have finally arrived.
The layout of the playoffs is a little bit different because they added an extra wild card team and only the #1 seed from each conference attains a bye week. So, the Chiefs and the Packers are the only playoff teams bypassing the first round of the playoffs.
It seems like there are multiple teams that could make a run to the Super Bowl this year, especially with four 11-5 teams making the playoffs in the AFC. The AFC playoffs are so deep this year that the 10-6 Miami Dolphins couldn’t make it.
All in all, these playoffs should be entertaining and fun to watch. As the NFL Wild Card games begin this afternoon, and there are some great matchups to watch this weekend. With three games occurring today and three more games tomorrow, here are my betting picks and predictions for the games:
Game: #7 Indianapolis Colts vs #2 Buffalo Bills
Prediction: Bills win and cover the 6.5 points. Also, I’ll take the over on the 51 points. (This game will be close, but the Bills’ hot streak looks too good to be stopped in the first round of the playoffs.)
Game: #6 Los Angeles Rams vs #3 Seattle Seahawks
Prediction: Seahawks win and cover the 3 points. Also, I’ll take the under on the 42 points (Both matchups in the regular season were under 42 total points.)
Game: #5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs #4 Washington Football Team
Prediction: Buccaneers win and cover the 8 points. Also, I’ll take the over on the 44.5 points (I expect the game to be close in the first half, then the Buccaneers pull away in the second half.)
Game: #5 Baltimore Ravens vs #4 Tennessee Titans
Prediction: PIcking my first upset so far, Titans get the win against the Ravens at home. Also, I’ll take the over on the 54.5 points because of the porous Titans defense, although the over/under will be very close. (Their regular season matchup scored a total of 54 points.)
Game: #2 New Orleans Saints vs #7 Chicago Bears
Prediction: I’ll take the Saints to win, but the Bears will cover the 10 points. Also, I’ll take the under on the 47.5 points. (Neither offense looks effective on a weekly basis, but the Saints defense is one of the best in the playoffs. Bears should be able to keep it somewhat close throughout the game though.)
Game: #3 Pittsburgh Steelers vs #6 Cleveland Browns
Prediction: I’ll take the Browns to upset the Steelers on the road, and I’ll take the under on the 47.5 points. (The Steelers have looked awful the past month, except for the second half against the Colts in week 15. For some reason, they rested in week 16, so I expect them to come out slow against the Browns which will punish them in the end.